Madison — Gov. Scott Walker on Tuesday embraced a move to ban abortion after 20 weeks after repeatedly declining to spell out where he stood on the issue in last year's re-election campaign.

It is the latest example of Walker downplaying a major issue until after being re-elected and climbing to the top tier of likely 2016 presidential candidates. Walker did not campaign on plans to spin off the University of Wisconsin System as a public authority and now says he will sign so-called right-to-work legislation even though he insisted for years he would keep the measure from reaching his desk.

Wisconsin Right to Life has touted as its top priority legislation that has yet to be introduced that would prevent women from seeking abortions in most cases after 20 weeks.(148)

If Park Bank is liable for not spotting Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva's $34 million embezzlement from Koss Corp. and has to reimburse the company, Koss Chief Executive Michael Koss should also be ordered to personally pay the public company he runs, the bank argues in a new lawsuit.

Grant Thornton, Koss Corp.'s former auditor, should also have to pay a portion of any award that may be ordered, Park Bank argued in the latest twist in a long-running court fight stemming from Sachdeva's massive embezzlement.

"Park Bank denies any and all liability to Koss in this case," the bank said in its action. "Nevertheless, should Park Bank be found liable to Koss (Corp.) and required to pay damages to Koss, in this case, those damages will have been the result of a common liability of Park Bank, Michael Koss and Grant Thornton, thereby entitling Park Bank to (a) contribution from Michael Koss and Grant Thornton."(10)

Another ethics complaint filed against Justice Gableman

Madison -- A group of working women is filing another ethics complaint against Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman for not recusing himself from a case.

The group 9to5 Milwaukee filed the complaint with the Government Accountability Board on Friday, saying that Gableman’s decision not to recuse in a case affected its outcome.

In a separate ethics case against him, Gableman did not pay for legal services from the firm of Michael Best & Friedrich. He then went on to hear cases in which that firm served as counsel.

“It is hard not to see the fee agreement between Justice Gableman and the Michael Best & Friedrich firm as a thinly disguised gift,” William Hodes, an expert on judicial ethics, wrote in a letter to the accountability board that accompanied the complaint.

State law bars public officials from receiving anything of value for free because of their position. Separately, the state's judicial ethics code prevents judges from accepting gifts from those who are likely to appear before them.

Gableman's vote was decisive in the case in the 9to5 complaint because it resulted in a 3-3 deadlock over a Milwaukee ordinance requiring employers to provide workers sick leave. If Gableman had not participated, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce - a Michael Best client - would have lost and the justices would have voted to put the ordinance into effect.

Instead, the court could not reach agreement and the case was sent to the Court of Appeals to decide. The appeals court ruled this March the sick-leave ordinance should go into effect, but by then Republicans had taken control of the state Legislature and soon after they passed a law to block the ordinance.

Viet Dinh, Gableman’s high-profile attorney from Washington, D.C., said in a media interview Wednesday that the justice didn’t need to recuse himself in cases involving Michael Best. That’s because under the contract Michael Best had at least the slim possibility under the law of recovering its fees from the state if it prevailed in the case – an arrangement known as a “contingency contract.”

“He has done absolutely everything right and there is no need for him to abstain in cases where Michael Best appears before him,” Dinh said of Gableman.

A Journal Sentinel review of state law shows Michael Best would have had just a slim chance of recovering its full fees under the deal. Since 1972, only one judge has ever recovered legal fees from the state and in that case the judge only partially recovered his fees.

About Jason Stein

Jason Stein covers the state Capitol and is the author with his colleague Patrick Marley of "More than They Bargained For: Scott Walker, Unions and the Fight for Wisconsin." His work has been recognized by journalism groups such as the American Society of News Editors, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors.